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CM Pawan Chamling said that once the drug consumers are stopped from being stigmatised as criminals, they will come out in the open and be receptive to treatment.

Photo for representation only. (Reuters)

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Gangtok: In what seems like a paradigm shift, the Sikkim government will soon bring about changes in the existing laws to decriminalise the use of contraband substances and, instead, treat it as a disease. The amended law will also enhance the punishment meted out to drug peddlers and traffickers.

Addressing a traditional Lepcha programme at Saramsa, about 15 kilometres from Gangtok, Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling indicated that the changes in the law were being introduced to tackle the menace of drug abuse and facilitate the treatment of drug users. “The jail term for those trafficking drugs will be increased, but the consumption of drugs will not be considered as an offence. Drug use is an ailment, a disease,” he said.

According to the provisions of the Sikkim Anti-Drugs Act 2006, drug peddlers and traffickers can be sentenced to a jail term of six months to five years and fined up to Rs 1 lakh depending on who is committing the crime and the severity of it, while a person found guilty of consuming drugs can be imprisoned for six months and fined up to Rs 20,000.

Chamling said that once the drug consumers are stopped from being stigmatised as criminals, they will come out in the open and be receptive to treatment. “If someone is a criminal, he will hide. If you are considered sick, the stigma of being a criminal will not be there…We in Sikkim will not call those consuming drugs as criminals, but as patients. The government will provide them with treatment,” he said.

Vishal Chauhan, the Sikkim health secretary, echoed the chief minister and said that the amendments in the law will help in the treatment of drug abusers. “The government has also asked us to do a study on what are the causes of drug abuse and how that can be checked,” he said. He, however, was not immediately able to provide data on the extent of drug menace in the state.

The chief minister further said that efforts were being made to get in touch with Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt and get him to Sikkim to spread awareness on substance abuse. Dutt has had a well documented problem with drug abuse early in his early life, but he eventually overcame it and has since gone on to have a flourishing career in movies.

People working in the field of substance abuse have hailed the chief minister’s announcement as a progressive step in tackling the problem of drug abuse. “We have waited for this for long, but the wait is worth it. I wholeheartedly welcome the decision of the chief minister. The only point I am not comfortable with is the enhancement of punishment for drug peddlers because seven out of the 10 peddlers are themselves drug users, and they peddle drugs to fund their use,” said K. C. Nima, the team leader of Freedom Facility, an NGO which works in the field of substance abuse.